• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Control Area expanded past Bridgewater Bay
• Absentee farmer fined $5,000 for animal cruelty to herd
• Supplement feeding – grain poisoning risk
• Project to support dairy feeding and housing decisions
• The Very Fast Break - your seasonal climate update
• Farm safety creative competition for kids
• Connecting primary producers to prevent mental health risk
• Latest podcast episodes
• What's on?

The Victorian Government has announced a further easing of restrictions from 11:59pm tonight, Thursday 8 July. See the latest Statement from the Minister for Health for details.

Keep up to date with all the latest restrictions and requirements at coronavirus.vic.gov.au.

The Control Area in place to manage an outbreak of abalone viral ganglioneuritis (AVG) in wild abalone Victoria’s south-west has been updated and now extends just past the western edge of Bridgewater Bay.

Further surveillance this week found that the aquatic disease has spread up to the edge of the western boundary of the Control Area in place at that time.

Effective Saturday 3 July, the Control Area has been expanded west to allow a small buffer from the new detection sites. The new Control Area spans from about one kilometre west of Cape Bridgewater Lookout to Cape Grant in the east.

Victoria’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Dr Graeme Cooke, said divers collected samples from the western edge of Bridgewater Bay with tests from AgriBio confirming the disease on Friday 2 July.

“Unfortunately, but not surprisingly for a disease of this nature, divers found more affected abalone near the western boundary of the Control Area which changed only last week, confirming that the disease is capable of moving.

“It’s very disappointing to have to make this small change, but it’s a necessary step to limit the spread of the disease to other abalone populations.

“Fortunately, there are still no detections east of Cape Grant, so the Control Area does not impact fishing and boating activities in Portland.

“It is important to remember please, a precautionary Fisheries Notice remains in place which restricts fishing, boating and diving 500m around an aquaculture farm near Narrawong. Disease has not been detected on any Victorian Aquaculture sites. For more information, visit the VFA website.”

Dr Cooke said surveillance will continue in the Control Area and west to monitor disease spread.

“In the Control Area, you can continue to fish with an unweighted line, take your boat out (provided you do not anchor), swim, surf and paddleboard. You cannot anchor your boat, fish with a weighted sinker, dive, use commercial or recreational fishing equipment such as hoop nets, bait traps and hauling nets, collect abalone or shellfish or anything from the sea floor.”

Outside the Control Area, fishing, diving and boating activities can occur as normal.

“This detection shows us that the disease continues to be able to spread. We know it exists in the marine environment and can reappear at any time.

“Everyone has a part to play in biosecurity and limiting the spread of pests and diseases. Even if you don’t go into the Control Area, it is always best practice to wash your boat and any gear you have used in the sea with soap and freshwater thoroughly. This includes fishing rods, wetsuit, hoods, masks and snorkels.

“Thank you to everyone in the community, fishers, and industry for supporting this response, doing the right thing, and following the restrictions.”

For more information and to stay up to date, follow Agriculture Victoria on Facebook or Twitter or visit agriculture.vic.gov.au/abalone

Absentee farmer, Bruce Cook, was fined $5,000 in the Swan Hill Magistrates Court recently for animal cruelty to his herd.

The farmer pleaded guilty to two charges, one for cruelty and one aggravated cruelty offence. Without conviction he was fined $5,000 and costs awarded in the amount of $219.95 to the department.

The herd were agisted on a property at Lake Charm, near Swan Hill, approximately 410 kilometres from his residential address in Crossover.

At the time of the incident, Mr Cook was on a trip interstate and did not supervise the cattle himself or arrange for anyone to supervise the cattle in his absence. During the six-day period of extreme heat the cattle’s water source pump failed, resulting in the death of 32 cattle.

Agriculture Victoria Animal Health and Welfare Compliance Manager Daniel Bode said apart from the obvious pain and suffering of the animals, animal welfare breaches can jeopardise Victoria’s reputation as a humane and responsible producer of food, which can affect all producers.

“This is a reminder to all livestock producers that animal cruelty will not be tolerated by the Victorian Government or the community,” he said.

“Also, those farmers who work as absentee owners are reminded that adequate supervision is a requirement particularly during risk times such as summer to ensure animals have proper and sufficient feed, water and shelter.”

Anyone wishing to make a specific complaint in regard to livestock welfare can contact Agriculture Victoria on 136 186 or aw.complaint@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Dr Jeff Cave, District Veterinary Officer

Some producers may be considering supplementary feeding their livestock with grain or pellets. Such feeding can bring many benefits, but also carries the risk of grain poisoning.

Grain poisoning occurs when large amounts of starch are eaten and then rapidly fermented in the rumen or first stomach. This leads to the excessive production of lactic acid, which is absorbed into the animal’s body, reinforcing the condition’s other name, lactic acidosis.

Grain poisoning may occur when:

• grain or pellets are introduced too quickly
• there is a sudden increase in the amount of grain or pellets being fed
• there is a change in type of grain or pellets being fed
• there is insufficient feeding space leading to the dominant animals overeating
• farmers not being aware the same precautions need to be followed when feeding pellets
• accidental overeating due to storage areas not being sealed.

The clinical signs of grain poisoning should become apparent within 24 to 36 hours after the access to grain or pellets. In mild cases, cattle and sheep may show a decrease in appetite and appear quieter than usual.

In more severe cases, cattle and sheep may show weakness, lameness, abdominal pain, and diarrhoea ranging from porridge to water consistency, depending upon the severity of the condition, leading to dehydration. Severe cases of grain poisoning can be fatal.

Reducing the animal’s access to grain or pellets and increasing the availability of roughage can treat mild cases.

More severe cases may need to be drenched with sodium bicarbonate to neutralise the lactic acid. Unfortunately, severely affected animals are unlikely to respond well to treatment.

Following treatment, affected animals may develop hoof problems and lameness due to hoof damage caused by grain poisoning.

Like for many animal health problems, the best treatment is prevention, and the key to prevention is to gradually increase the proportion of grain or pellets in the diet at a rate at which the animal’s body can acclimatise.

Feeding guidelines are available in drought feeding guides for sheep and cattle, freely available from Agriculture Victoria's Feeding Livestock website.

For further advice please contact your local veterinarian or Agriculture Victoria Veterinary or Animal Health Officer.

Dairy farmers who plan to change their businesses to zero-grazing and contained housing systems will be supported by a new economic and risk analysis collaborative project led by Dairy Australia, Agriculture Victoria and NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI).

The project aims to support dairy farmers who are evaluating their options and who may decide to move down a path that transitions them to a new feeding and/or housing system.

This will be achieved through a sound economic and risk analysis of both partial and total mixed ration feeding systems.

For more than ten years, Agriculture Victoria has provided tailored and extensive support to dairy farm businesses through their feeding transition, and enquiries are not slowing.

Agriculture Victoria Dairy Program Manager, Terry Batey said there were a handful of farmers considering this type of investment and transition ten years ago and over the last few years interest has grown.

“We have supported many farm clients on the zero-grazing journey since 2006,” he said.

“Farmers are looking for information in Australia and overseas to support their planning and decision-making.

“We need information, data and advice in context of the Australian dairy industry which is why this collaboration is so timely and important.”

Sheena Carter, Development Officer Dairy Farm Business Management in NSW Department of Primary Industries said the situation in NSW is similar to that in Victoria with lots of interest from farmers in intensifying their feeding systems in an effort to adapt, as risk and variability continue to increase into the future.

“There are many farmers who are either thinking about, or seriously investigating and costing out options for intensification, particularly with compost or freestall barns.

“These systems require significant capital expenditure and system adjustment. Working out the capital required to build barns and the associated infrastructure is probably the easy bit. Having insight into what changes in operational costs might look like as you move away from pasture-based systems and the impact that may have on cost of production will be really useful for those considering this type of system.

"This will also have an impact on their ability to service the associated debt. The risk analysis component will also be highly valuable.”

Dairy Australia’s Technical Lead - Feeding and Farm Systems, Karen Romano said the collaborative economic and risk analysis project was part of the three-year Adapting Dairy Farm Systems (ADFS) program, which commenced in 2019.

“The ADFS program aims to provide dairy farmers with information and resources to support them to make well-informed decisions when considering new feeding and housing systems,” she said.

The ADFS program will also deliver new national guidelines for feedpads and housing systems in collaboration with Agriculture Victoria and will develop an operational decision support process (DPS) to guide farm businesses who are contemplating farming system changes.

Ms Romano said through the ADFS program, Dairy Australia has formed collaborative partnerships with Agriculture Victoria, Murray Dairy, NSW DPI and subject matter specialists both within and outside of Australia.

The economic and risk analysis project findings are expected to be released later this year.

For more information on the project, and on the Adapting Dairy Farm Systems program, visit
dairyaustralia.com.au/adaptingdairyfarmsystem.

Seasonal Risk Agronomist Dale Grey has examined 12 climate models and provides insight into what can be expected for the next three months.

To see what the predictions are in your region, watch the full episode of the Very Fast Break.

If you have comments, questions or feedback address them to Dale Grey at the.break@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

The Very Fast Break is produced by Agriculture Victoria as part of the GRDC (Southern and Northern Region) 'Increasing grower and advisor capacity and confidence in seasonal forecasting - Southern region and SNSW' project.

Looking for a creative school holiday activity?

Kidsafe Victoria is running a farm safety creative competition for early learners and primary school aged children, with a $100 RH Sports voucher for the first 50 schools to enter.

Visit the Kidsafe website for more information.

The National Centre for Farmer Health announced that the innovative and exciting new chat-based platform ‘Campfire’ is now live as part of the Primary Producer Knowledge Network.

Campfire provides an engaging, solution-focused community for farmers and fishers to proactively improve their systems of work in support of mentally healthy workplaces via:

• practical tools and resources,
• solution-focused stories that address work related challenges,
• interaction with experts and peer networks.

Online Campfires will be lit at each Tuesday – Thursday evening from 7:30pm, where primary producers can discuss work-related challenges.

Bonfires will be held fortnightly (Wednesday evenings from 7.30pm) where primary producers will hear from topic experts and participate in Q&A.

Register today to join the conversation, receive information about upcoming events and access topic blogs and podcasts by clicking here.

Upcoming Bonfire Event Dates:

• 14 July - New to Farming
• 28 July – Communication – its more than your words
• 11 Aug – Planning for Success(ion)

My Rain Gauge is Busted

In the latest episode of ‘My Rain Gauge is Busted’, Agriculture Victoria’s climate specialist Graeme Anderson explains the differences between weather, seasonal forecast and climate change models and when and where to trust them.

To listen search 'My Rain Gauge is Busted' wherever you usually get your podcasts or listen in 🎧 here: https://go.vic.gov.au/31cuNY

AgVic Talk

In the latest episode if AgVic Talk hear about balancing location, variability and optimum capacity with Brett Findlay.

To listen search 'AgVic talk' wherever you usually get your podcasts or listen in 🎧 on the Agriculture Victoria website.

Details about Agriculture Victoria events can now be found in one spot on our website. Log on to agriculture.vic.gov.au/events to find out what's on.

Agriculture Victoria is excited to be attending the following field days coming up in August.

Sheep Connect

Date: Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 August

Location: Hamilton Showgrounds, Shakespeare St, Hamilton

For more information visit the Sheep Connect website.

Mallee Machinery Field Days

Date: Wednesday 4 and Thursday 5 August

Location: 2574 Sunraysia Highway, Speed

For more information visit the Mallee Machinery Field Days website.

Has your farm been affected by soil erosion or sediment?

Agriculture Victoria will provide information and approaches in responding to erosion impacts during this webinar.

Soil erosion and the associated movement of sediment is a common occurrence following bushfires and floods. Soil erosion can appear in many forms including landslips, sheet and rill erosion, scour gullies and gully head erosion. Soil erosion and associated sediment can damage dams, fences, tracks, and stream crossings.

Date: Tuesday 13 July

Time: 7 – 8 pm

Venue: Zoom or phone

Speakers: Brad Costin and Clem Sturmfels

The Zoom meeting will open at 6.30 pm. Please join early to sort out any connection issues. For assistance contact Greg Ferrier on 0438 738 634

Topics:

• Cause of soil erosion
• Farm impacts and maintenance
• Control techniques and responses
• Case studies
• Questions and answers.

Cost: Free

Register online: https://zoom.us/j/95106634604

Meeting ID: 951 0663 4604 Passcode: flood

Joining by phone:

Telephone call in number: (03) 7018 2005

Meeting ID: 951 0663 4604

Passcode: 840462

For further information contact Clem Sturmfels, Land Management Extension Officer on 0429 018 879 or clem.sturmfels@agriculture.vic.gov.au

​This webinar will discuss the types of irrigation AgTech equipment, and Internet of Things (IoT) services, currently available. Details of the recently announced Victorian Digital Agriculture Grants program will also be presented.

WHEN: 15 July, 1-2 pm

WHERE: online, register here

TOPICS:

• Types of irrigation AgTech equipment and services available for irrigated farms
• Recent findings from the AgVic IoT Project and the associated on-farm dairy, cropping, horticulture and sheep IoT trials
• The IoT catalogue of apps, devices and suppliers
• What irrigation AgTech can do for your farm business
• AgTech funding

CONTACT: John Paulet, 0429 158 500 or john.paulet@agriculture.vic.gov.au.

Hamilton: Research Station Road, Hamilton

Collection type: Fox only

Time: 1.30 – 3.30 pm

• Wednesday, 28 July
• Wednesday, 25 August
• Wednesday, 22 September
• Wednesday, 20 October

Colac: 23A Hugh Murray Drive, Colac East

Collection type: Fox only

Time: 1.30 - 3.30 pm

• Tuesday, 27 July
• Tuesday, 24 August
• Tuesday, 21 September
• Tuesday, 19 October

Geelong: 16 Cadman Terrace, North Geelong

Collection type: Fox only

Time: 9.30 – 11.30 am

• Tuesday, 27 July
• Tuesday, 24 August
• Tuesday, 21 September
• Tuesday, 19 October

Warrnambool: 703-709 Raglan Parade, Warrnambool

Collection type: Fox only

Time: 1 – 3 pm

• Wednesday, 28 July
• Wednesday, 25 August
• Wednesday, 22 September
• Wednesday, 20 October

Enjoying the Barwon South West Ag News? Then why not forward to a friend or subscribe yourself.

It's easy – simply click this link.